thanks for joining us at 5:00 on this wednesday morning. let's get started with traffic and weather every ten minutes. it is a winter morning with a damp, cold air. >> it will look like it's especially later this morning and into the midday. cold rain mixed with snow flakes at times. it will look like winter. but no stimulation except for the highest elevations far north and west of the metro. it's 34 in hagerstown, 39 in winchester and culpeper. 41 in quantico. we have clouds moving overhead right now, but rain showers are still locked in the west. they will slowly push into the region later this morning into the mid day. some areas of cold rain mixed with wet snowflakes at times. temperatures holding steady, then dropping a little in the afternoon, near 40 degrees. scattered sprinkles tomorrow, not a washout.

slowly developing is the traffic flow. we will show you how things are developing nicely in landmark on 395. traffic on the right is headed to the pentagon. this is the beltway at university boulevard, looks good in both directions. newschopper 7 in a little while. now to news. to check the forecast throughout the day, log on to tbd.com. are other big story a student under arrest, accused of bringing a loaded gun to school. >> it happened yesterday at tuscarora high school. investigators are trying to figure out why he came to class arms. brianne carter is live in rockville with the latest. >> good morning. that 15-year-old students is being held in rockville awaiting an appearance before

judge, expected to happen today. frederick county school officials have never experienced something like this before. a 15-year-old high school students now faces gun charges after he brought a loaded weapon to class. >> kind of scary that someone brings a gun to school. >> around lunchtime the student was discovered concealing a fully loaded 22 caliber revolver in his clothing. the school principal sent out an e-mail about the incident stating, "indicated he felt he was in danger in connection with a previous altercation at school and needed protection on the walk home." the students never threatened anyone. >> it is unfortunate someone feels they have to bring a gun to school to protect themself. it should not get to that level. >> questions are being raised about safety and security in schools. >> i would say the scanning and

checking bags, a student might say that privacy. >> the students' faces a number of charges including possessing a firearm under the age of 21. expected to face a judge later today. school officials will hold meetings with parents and students about all of this and about safety and security at school. ] brianne carter, abc 7 news. virginia tech is being penalized for waiting too long to notify students during the 2007 shooting rampage. the u.s. education department announced yesterday that its finding the school $55,000. that is the maximum amount allowed. university officials say they acted appropriately and plan to appeal. today marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting on south capitol street when nine people were shot. four were killed. march 30, 2010. candelight prayer vigil will be held tonight. the event is being billed as a

call to action. it will begin at 6:30 at brandywine and south capitol street, se. we have new developments overnight in the crisis in libya. moammar gaddafi's troops pushed back rebel fighters in two town. international leaders are weighing their options and considering whether to arm the rebels. pamela brown is tracking the latest developments from the satellite center. >> good morning. the tide is turning once again in parts of libya. rebels are retreating from gaddafi's hometown of sirte after his loyal forces pounded them with tanks and rockets. this setback spurs more debate on whether to arm the rebels. it is an option president obama and other world leaders are considering. nato is set to take command of military operations, president obama insists that the noose is tightening around gaddafi's next. many lawmakers in washington

want more clear-cut answers about the end goal and the exit strategy. president obama says ousting gaddafi could be the wrong approach. but lawmakers say waiting for him to step down is a mistake. president obama says it may take awhile for gaddafi to step down. congress will have briefings with this and secretary gates and secretary clinton -- with defense secretary gates and secretary clinton. new problems at the crippled japanese nuclear power plant. three workers were drenched with radioactive water despite supposedly wearing waterproof suits and radiation levels in the sea water near the plant are thousands of times higher than normal. experts say it is a sign were contaminated water is heading into the ocean. these developments, as president obama prepares to deliver a

major speech on energy policy. the president will go to a georgetown university this morning to outline his plan for creating new clean sources of energy. last night hundreds of students lined up to get tickets for today's speech. dc's cherry blossoms are in their peak bloom for a second day. the cold weather does not appear to have hurt them. it is expected to last through friday. the parade is april 9. and a festival that was supposed to take place last weekend has been rescheduled for april 10, they kite festival. the 43 degrees outside. >> still to come speaking out about an alleged trading scandal. the head of d.c. schools is on the defense this morning.

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welcome back.

just about 5:00 and on this wednesday morning. time to a check on traffic and weather. -- about 5:10. >> let's check with adam caskey. >> we will have areas of cold rain mixed with wet snowflakes from time to time. there are showers of to the west and southwest right now. exported to the arlington, with 34 in brunswick 31 in berkeley springs and hagerstown, 41 in warrenton -- 39 in warrenton. most of the snowfall will be far west of the metro area, especially in higher elevations where you can see a couple inches by later this evening. later on tomorrow, a few areas of light rain. a few sprinkles periodically through the day off and on.

dress in layers and you need a raincoat. today, near 40 this afternoon with a few areas of mixed precipitation tonight and a few isolated sprinkle off and on throughout the day tomorrow, mid to upper 40's tomorrow. the average high is 60 degrees. unsettled whether it's through saturday. nothing unsaddling from the district. metro rail is on normal service. looks good at rock creek park. no troubles on the door to washington parkway or the suitland parkway. looks good on south capitol street. quiet is on the beltway. overnight construction is complete. 270 out of frederick, 66 out of marshall into vienna and 95 traffic is building near woodbrige. this picture shows northbound headlights into newington on 95. back to you. >> thank you.

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and pack they produce.y so you can make the choice that's right for you. welcome back. texting our top stories, a 15- year-old frederick high-school student faces charges after he brought a loaded gun to school. it happened yesterday at tuscarora high school. fellow students turned him in. he was arrested. he told the school that he needed a gun for protection. forces loyal to adopt a launched a counter-offensive against rebels -- forces loyal to gaddafi. world leaders are discussing whether to give weapons to the

rebels. a lethal bacteria infection is blamed for nine deaths at six alabama hospitals. 90 people contracted the infection from an intravenous nutritional supplement. it is no longer used and patients are no longer at risk. the u.s. house is set to debate a bill this afternoon that would revive a school voucher program for d.c. students. the program subsidizes private school tuition. congress began phasing out the program in 2009. house speaker john boehner is sponsoring a bill to revive it. the bill would increase the annual subsidy $12,000 per student. d.c. schools chancellor kaya henderson is defending teachers and students after a trading scandal. a recent probe found some tests showed unusually high numbers of answers that had been changed from wrong to write. -- right. ben eisler has details.

>> according to a front-page article in "usa today," the scores jump suspiciously. in 2006, 10% of students in the head start programs quarter advanced in maps. in 2009, to 58% scored advanced. is this a case of file play? the school's chancellor says no. in 2009 the district hired an independent investigator, the best in the business, to look into the matter. they found little to nothing she said. she says it is attributed to the reforms put forth by former schools boss michelle rhee. >> these teachers and students have worked so hard. they were fully investigated. now their reputations are in question. their integrity is questioned because we are having a trial by

the media when actually we did the right thing. we asked for a full investigation. >> noyes elementary received awards for its performance and teachers received bonuses. the schools chancellor is asking the internalattorney general for an investigation now. maryland's proposed $34 billion budget now goes before a conference committee. last night the state senate approved a budget that includes $75 million in fee increases. the house passed the bill earlier. the house and senate hope to work out their differences before april 11 when they are set to adjourn. fairfax county officials approved names for eight to stations on the metro extension to dulles airport. tysons-mclean, tysons 1 and 2

tysons central tysons-spring hill road, and others. now the list goes to metro for final approval. a record launch part nintendo pose the next dimension. and applications stores go head- to-head. rob nelson as those stories and more. >> a strong start for nintendo's 3ds hand-held. first-day sales were the highest for any hand-held gaming unit in history. there are no widespread issues with the device despite reports of a so-called black screen of death. buying software from your computer apple and google have recently launched application stores that let you download to your pc or run through their web browser. this makes buying software much easier. >> in the past you had to go out and buy a disk of the

program and install those and get the program that way on your computer. but this is a great new way of installing programs without having to go to the store or purchase a physical disks. >> thanks for watching. i am rob nelson. 5:19, time to a check on traffic and weather. adam caskey is joining us. not the prettiest of days. >> unfortunate because we are in the peak time for the cherry blossoms. >> this is spring in washington. you can go from 80 degrees back down into low 40's with mixed precipitation. we see that a lot around here. it is unsettled for the next several days. that's the truth. we will have on rainshowers off and on. & cool the next couple days -- damp and cool.

it's 39 at dulles airport 37 in manassas, 34 in hagerstown, 30 degrees at frederick. annapolis along the water at 40 degrees. unsettled weather pattern. our level energy and surface pressure. over the next several days. today through saturday. the bulk of the moisture will be today into tomorrow as well. rainout the showers are well off to our west and southwest -- right now the showers are well off to our west and southwest. a wintry mix will be across the metro area with no accumulations locally. those should be confined to the highest elevations in western maryland and west virginia. areas of light blue indicate some snow across the region later this morning into the midday, changing to a cold rain with a wet snow flakes mixed in later today. and tonight as well. between tonight and tomorrow

evening we could see up to an inch of rain and an inch of liquid equivalent in spots. rather impressive. we don't necessarily need that much moisture, but we are going to get it. scattered areas of light cold rain today mixed with wet snowflakes. temperatures will hold steady and may drop a few degrees into the afternoon and evening. isolated sprinkle off and on the next couple days, thursday through saturday. slowly warming up, 60 on monday. olney, maryland, there is a fire in someone's attic in montgomery county. 108 is closed near dr. burg rd. there's a close-up of a utility pole, but that does not help us. let's go to a wide angle lens in

germantown maryland. headlights southbound coming out of germantown towards gaithersburg moving fine. back to you. >> thank you. 5:22 on a wednesday morning. 44 degrees. >> coming next alex ovechkin makes his return to the capital. will you lead them to victory in issued off? >> 1970's icon bo derek, on the oprah show.

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lebron james making another returned to his old stomping grounds in cleveland last night. he was booed. he claims to have been in the restroom and did not hear that. the cavaliers beat the miami heat. >> not the kind of welcome you what. -- want. the miami heat will take on the presence tonight at the verizon center. >> tim brant has the rest of sports. >> the capitals were back playing at home against carolina last night after a successful road trip. alex ovechkin is healthy again

and back in the lineup. in the second the capitals were down one. this is a pretty goal craftsmanship. then it was tied. then marcus johansson. he goes wide. his 13th goal of the year. turns the game into a shootout. here is the carolina game winner. they win it, 3-2. here is the performance of yesterday. roberts pitched a perfect game against gw. 27 down, 9850. roberts with the game of his life and the party continues in charlottesville. there is a look in your morning sports. have a great day. 44 degrees. the news continues at 5:30. >> ronald reagan's close call.

how the region will mark 30 years that a would-be assassin took aim at the former president. >> rebels lose ground in two key towns, a live report coming up. >> in the weather center attracting the cold and unsettled weather patterns [ female announcer ] real fruit smoothies from mccafé are real fruit as in strawberries blackberries blueberries, and bananas which makes them really delicious. ♪ 0♪ that's what we oe made of. ♪ ♪

live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> it is kind of scary that someone brings a gun to school. >> straight ahead, a loaded gun in frederick county classroom. disturbing details and the alert every parent needs to see. good morning, washington. it's wednesday, march 30. thanks for joining us, i am

alison starling. >> i am scott thuman. much more on that in a minute. we begin by looking at traffic and weather every ten minutes. adam caskey is in the weather center with a look at itself forecast. >> it's gotta be a damp weather pattern the next couple days. between now and saturday, anticipate rainshowers off and on. especially today into tonight. let's look at temperatures. rain showers are still locked to our west and southwest. they will push into our region. there are areas of >> no -- of wet snow and mainly rain later this afternoon. scattered areas of light rain, mixed with snow at times temperatures near 40 this afternoon. sprinkles off and on throughout the day today and tomorrow.

travel times in our favor on 95 between richmond and baltimore. the green light on the freeway and the toll road 66, 270 between father hurley boulevard and the beltway. no problems on the american legion bridge or the wilson bridge. there's a picture of traffic in springfield. headlights are northbound out of newington. metro rail is on normal service systemwide. back to you. >> thank you. to track the forecast any time of the day, log on to tbd.com. now to our other big story of the day a scare at the frederick high school. >> a 15-year-old student at tuscarora high school brought a loaded gun to class on tuesday. now investigators want to know why. brianne carter joins us live from rockville with details. >> good morning. frederick county school

officials say that a gun has never been brought to school in their district. the 15-year-0 students is being held at a rockville detention center awaiting a hearing in court expected to happen later today. the students' faces a number of gun charges after police say that he brought a loaded weapon to class. it all happened yesterday around lunchtime at tuscarora high school when the student was allegedly discovered concealing a fully loaded 22 caliber revolver in his clothing. the school principal sent out an e-mail about the incident, saying that the students indicated he felt he was in danger in connection with previous altercation at school and needed protection of glaucom -- needed protection on the walk home. the student is facing a number

of gun charges and is expected to face a judge later today. brianne carter, abc 7 news. more fallout for virginia tech in connection with the 2007 shooting rampage. the u.s. education department says the school waited too long to notify students. as a result, the school $55,000, the maximum amount allowed. university officials say they acted appropriately and plan to appeal. 30 years ago today that we nearly lost. a lost -- that we nearly lost a president. president ronald reagan was shot and wounded as he left the washington hilton in northwest d.c. the white house press secretary jim brady a secret service agent, and the d.c. police officer were shot as well. john hinckley, the assassin, was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

he remains at st. elizabeth's hospital in southeast. gun violence takes center stage on capitol hill today. and brady and his wife will mark the anniversary by urging president obama and congress to approve new laws to make it harder for dangerous people to get their hands on guns. following new developments this morning from libya where the rebel fighters have retreated from a key city. moammar gaddafi's forces have pushed the rebels out of town they captured and just days ago. pamela brown is tracking the latest. she joins us from the satellite center. >> good morning. the tide is turning in parts of libya in favor of forces loyal to gaddafi. rebels are being pushed back out of two key towns. world leaders insist they are gaining ground in their military efforts despite the setback. rebels in libya are out-mast and training and equipment and are on full retreat today from ground they just gained in

gaddafi's hometown of sirte. the u.s. and other countries are considering armed rebels. >> there could be legitimate transfer of arms if a country would choose to do that. >> we are there to protect people, not to our people -- not to arm people. >> president obama insists gaddafi will not be ousted through military action. >> we will keep applying pressure and hopefully, he will get the message soon. >> how long will it take for the leader to step down and for the u.s. to leave? those are questions lawmakers are asking. >> if he does not leave, how long will nato be there to enforce the no-fly zone? >> soldiers in north carolina are preparing for a year-long deployment to the libyan coast. members of congress are set to give readings today on libya

behind closed doors and will meet with secretary of state clinton and defense secretary gates, among others. pamela brown, abc 7 news. now to japan facing new problems as they try to stabilize the a crippled nuclear power plant. three workers were drenched with radioactive water despite wearing waterproof suits. the level of radioactive iodine in seawater near the plant is thousands of times higher than normal. former virginia governor tim kaine is facing more pressure to make a bid for the u.s. senate next year. president obama nudged him to run during the democratic party fund-raiser in new york last night. virginia democrats are pushing him to seek the seat held by jim webb who announced he will not run for reelection. 44 degrees outside. >> still ahead more trouble in the skies another air traffic

controller suspended for a safety violation. >> hanging up the ballroom shoes. we will tell you who is headed home after "dancing"'s" first

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children each week to keep them excited about reading. good morning, washington. wednesday morning, 5:40 right now. 45 degrees in the district, 37 in manassas, 32 in cumberland. it is cold enough for a few wet snowflakes today to mix with the range. many rain off and on throughout the day later this morning and through the rest of the day off and on with some wet snowflakes. accumulations will be in the highest elevations and they could pick up a couple inches. precipitation to our west and southwest is continuing to push to the east. we will see some development and within the next five hours we will see some areas of light rain and wet snowflakes moving into our region. near 40 later this afternoon holding steady, then dropping a little later today.

mixed precipitation cannot be ruled out tonight with a few sprinkles tomorrow and over the next couple days. that's all the way through saturday. unsettled weather today through saturday. we will slowly be warming up, near 60 by monday. pretty good around the beltway, no problems in the district. park police say everything is good for them. metro will reporting normal service systemwide. looks good from fairfax police, prince william as well as stafford. just growing volume out of frederick on 270, 66 out of manassas getting into vienna, and along 95 out of woodbrige. there was a house fire at olney that is affecting norwood rd. at 108, norwood is shut down. back to you. >> thank you. 43 degrees, 5:41.

>> coming up, a tiny snake with a big following. how you can track the missing cobra at the bronx zoo on twitter. >> first, a scary incident in the skies and another air traffic controllers suspended. blue diamond almonds! more bold flavor! more variety! more value! more of what you want... not what you don't. blue diamond almonds. (play-by-play announcer) it's up and it is... good! more than a snack.

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welcome back. in checking our top stories, of frederick high-school student faces several charges after he allegedly bought a loaded gun to school. it happened yesterday at tuscarora high school. the teen-year-old was arrested after fellow students reported him. he told them that he needed a weapon for protection pit >>. forces loyal to gaddafi has pushed back rebels. world leaders are discussing whether to give weapons to the rebels. the oracle will that killed

the trainer during a performance at the world in orlando last year is scheduled to resume performance today. -- the eight orca whale that killed a trainer. multiple agencies are investigating whether another air-controller mishap occurred. as happened sunday night over central florida. the comptroller sent a passenger jet on an unplanned side trip. >> and other air traffic controller is suspended for sending a passenger jet on a dangerous reconnaissance. the debt was a southwest airlines 737 with more than 140 people onboard. flight 821 from phoenix was preparing to land in orlando. 10 miles ahead, a private plane that had been out of radio contact.

a traffic control supervisor asked the flpassenger flight to slide towards that area, but the airplanes or t 00 close. the air traffic controller compromised the safety of everyone involved. the incident was totally inappropriate, says an faa administrator. a week ago the controller at reagan national airport fell asleep causing two passenger planes to land without him and he was suspended pit >>. a pilot found a whole in an airplane on monday and the fbi is looking for the cause. a number of things could have caused its including birds or normal wear and tear it. the supreme court will decide whether a landmark sex

discrimination case will move forward. several women at walmart say that they were denied promotions and equal pay. the justices will decide whether they can bring what could be the largest class action lawsuit ever. >> before i got promoted i was told to blow the cobwebs off my makeup and doll up. >> experiences of a few women even if true, are not typical say wal-mart attorneys. they say it cannot be the basis for a class action. the supreme court is expected to issue a ruling this summer. time to a check on traffic and weather. let's talk about this cold damp wednesday morning. >> in the downturn today.

not that we were on the upswing for long. >> a couple days. >> down even more today. it will be unsettled for the next couple days. late march and we have a winter weather advisory off to the west in some of the typical locations, in the higher elevations west virginia, western maryland, cumberland included as well as allegany county mineral, allegheny. winter weather advisory throughout the day today. we anticipate snow and minor accumulations. a couple inches maybe. locally, light snow flakes mixed with rain. this will last through the next couple like rain periodically off and on. it is 36 in gaithersburg, 45 downtown 42 in lexington park. a little warmer than yesterday

morning. temperatures are not going to move much today. locally they are going to level off and then fall to as we go into the afternoon. we have cloud cover overhead and areas of rain, we are still waiting on that to move into the area, but the temperature profile will support some wet snowflakes even in the metro area. no accumulations in the metro area just wet roads through the rest of the day. the evening commute as well and the drive to work tomorrow the roads could be wet across the entire region. scattered precipitation off and on throughout the day. mainly cold rain mixing with wet snowflakes. near 40 this afternoon. the average high is 50 degrees. -- the average high is 60. high temperatures in the mid to upper 40's tomorrow. isolated showers all the way

through saturday. 60's by early next week. no major accidents. metro rail on normal service. pretty good around the beltway. growing volume for some of you. let's go to columbia maryland and silver spring. looks good on glebe road. falls church no issues. looks good in rosslyn along 110 washington boulevard. looks good across the roosevelt bridge. headlights headed north towards columbia. traffic heading away from us is on the way to the beltway. here we are on the beltway at colesville road. looks good. headlights are the outer loop towards 270. signs of improvement but some of the sea is still out of work. >> linda bell is at bloomberg headquarters in new york. >> good morning.

let's begin with stock-index futures. they are looking higher this morning and make build upon and as -- an s&p three-week high. 28 states including the district of columbia recorded a net gain in jobs since the recession ended. however, the poorest area of d.c. ward 8 is not doing great. the jobless rate there is higher than any other u.s. metro area. it is more than 25%, as of january. the national rate is just 8.9%. as walmart faces a landmark sex discrimination case before the supreme court it is still the most valuable retail brand among americans for the third year in a row. .

behind it our target, home depot, best buy and drugstore chain cvs. linda bell reporting. back to you. >> thank you. 5:52, 44 degrees. >> its wednesday. we will be right back.

it was depressed elimination for the cast of "dancing with

the stars." >> mike and lacey. >> mike catherwood the talk- show host, was the first celebrity to be eliminated from the competition. fellow competitors say that they will miss his goofiest and quick collect -- quick wit. sugar ray leonard was in the bottom two our local hometown favorite. >> wow. psycho mike. it is amazing how much people follow these things. we are talking about the bronx zoo, still looking for the cobra that has been missing since friday. the snake has gained quite a

following on twitter. someone using the handle bronx zoo cobra has been treating the snake's suppose in progress around to york city. the tweets have attracted $85,000. one of them read, "on top of the empire state building. all the people look like little mice down there." he refuses to identify himself. >> the latest one said, "at the metropolitan museum of art the temple really kicks some asp." there's a lot more to come in the second hour of "good morning washington." who takes the top spot as

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straight ahead at 6:00, at chance of snowfall for the drive home. a cold and wet wednesday forecast. >> today the u.s. is handing over military operations of tripoli to nato.